Apmex is one of the most popular and reputable online bullion dealers. But before you buy from them it's important to read reviews and learn about their policies. I've bought bullion coins from Apmex on several occasions over the years, and here I will review my experience.
What I Bought
I have bought all different types of coins from Apmex, both silver and gold coins. I have never purchased bars from Apmex. However Apmex does have good prices on bars and they are a good option to consider.
Junk Silver
I bought circulated silver halfs, quarters, and dimes. The coins came in good condition- not great but not poor either. If you see a bad coin that you can send it back to Apmex but I never had to do this. Some coins were in better shape than others, but that was to be expected in a large bag.
Apmex has great deals on junk silver. For the circulated coins you can find premiums that are reasonable.
American Eagle Silver and Gold Coins
The new 1oz. bullion coins came in brand new condition straight from the US Mint. This is standard for all the large dealers. The coins looked beautiful and this is exactly what I expected.
Selection
APMEX probably has the largest coin selection of any online retailer. You can find just about any coin you could want, including rare coins. They have over 10,000 different items for sale. So needless to say, APMEX has an outstanding selection. Also very rarely are coins out of stock. Their buy-back program ensures that they keep a good inventory.
Packaging
Your coins come in nicely packaged. The 1oz. American Silver Eagle coins will come in tubes straight from the US Mint, so they are one of the best coin collector gift ideas. Apmex also provides an additional plastic holder that contains 5 tubes of 20 coins for a total of 100 coins. This is what I bought and it's called a mini monster box. See the picture below. The Apmex holder is nice but it probably won't fit inside your coin safe. I personally just took out the tubes and stashed them in my safe.
Junk silver can either come in coin wrappers or bags, but typically they will come in the cloth money bags. The half dollars I ordered came in bags. The bags work fine, but they take up a lot more space than the coin wrappers. You can also buy coin wrappers separately. The bags are secure, durable, and tie-able. It seems that for large orders of junk silver ($100 face value and up) the coins are going to be packaged in bags.
Shipping
All domestic orders ship free if the amount is over $199. Free shipping is a good feature but it's also fairly standard for most bullion retailers. If your order is under $199 then the shipping fee is around $9.95.
Every order ships quickly- typically within one business day. Although it depends on your payment method and what you are buying. I received all my orders quickly so I was happy with their shipping policy.
Each package is insured and large orders will require a signature upon delivery. The carrier will either be USPS or UPS.
Customer Service
I didn't have any need to contact customer service. Although for the sole purpose of this review, I called in to see what their phone support was like and it was great. You can quickly talk to a real person from the United States and they are more than willing to help you with any question that you may have.
Apmex also offers online chat support which I also checked out. I asked a simple question and I got a quick response within about a minute. So the chat feature seems to be a great option for simple questions.
Payment Options
Apmex conveniently offers several different payment options. We review each option below:
Credit Card or Paypal
The sale price differs based on what payment method you use. The standard price is for credit card or Paypal payments. You won't receive any discount when paying with either of those methods, so we recommend going with a different payment method. Even if you have a cash back or rewards credit card, it probably won't compare to the 4% discount you receive by paying via check or wire transfer. Nevertheless, credit card and Paypal payments are options.
Cryptocurrency
Apmex uses the Bitpay payment processor, which allows you to pay with several different cryptocurrencies. You can with either Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), or Ethereum (ETH). Currently the fees on Bitcoin Cash are cheaper than the other cryptocurrency options, so this is the cryptocurrency that I recommend using.
Once you select the cryptocurrency payment option, you will have 15 minutes to send your cryptocurrency over to Bitpay's address. Otherwise the transaction would timeout. If this happens then you would need to contact Apmex's customer service team. It's important to note that you would need to use a cryptocurrency wallet that is compatible with Bitpay. See the full list here.
I paid with Bitcoin (BTC) for one of my orders and there were no issues at all. It was much cheaper than by paying with my credit card.
Check or Wire Transfer
Writing and sending a check is simple. But many people are intimidated by wire transfers. If you've never done a wire transfer before then you may think it's hard, but in reality it's not hard. Apmex will give you the wire transfer information, and all you need to do is print it out, go to your local bank, and a banker will do the transfer for you. Typically your bank will charge a $20-30 fee for an outgoing wire transfer.
The benefits of a wire transfer is that it's instant, once it reaches the receiver's account then it's as good as cash. You wouldn't have to wait long for your payment to clear and your order would ship quickly.
Selling to Apmex
Are you interested in selling your bullion? Apmex buys precious metals. They call it their 'buy-back program' but the selling terms are not the best. They are only interested in buying amounts over $1,000, and they best rates they offer are for amounts over $10,000. So if you don't have over $10,000 worth of silver or gold to sell at once then they probably won't give you the best rate. Although it does depend on the coins and what their current inventory is. For generic silver, they offer under spot price.
It's important to note that you are only eligible to sell to Apmex if you are either a US customer or you have your silver stored at a Citadel Depository.
I personally have not sold to Apmex so I don't have experience with the process, although it seems simple enough. You send your bullion over by mail and you get paid after they receive and review your bullion.
Apmex offers different payment options. Basically you can opt for a check, ACH deposit, wire transfer, or a product trade. The wire transfer fee from Apmex is $25 but it gets waived if your total is over $10,000.
The main benefit of selling to Apmex is that you don't need to find a buyer. Apmex will buy any silver coin or bar that is in good condition. But overall I would recommend taking your precious metals somewhere else. You can get the same rates or better by going to a dealer in your local area. You could also sell silver online with eBay or find a local buyer through Craigslist.
Conclusion
Overall I believe that Apmex is a good precious metals dealer. They are a legitament company with a long track record. I like the different payment options that they offer, and I especially like being able to pay with Bitcoin.
If you are looking to buy precious metals then you should know that Apmex's prices are normally higher than their competitors. If you are trying to sell precious metals then I wouldn't recommend them because they don't offer as much as other places.
Personally my bullion dealer of choice is Money Metals Exchange.